The Magic of Christmas
by KatieFlint
Summary: Marcus is decorating the entirety of the Flint Manor by hand, all for Katie. Together they decorate their Christmas tree and share a moment underneath it.


A/N: Originally posted on LJ and AO3. I actually really loved writing this and kept it in light tones despite wanting to delve into the past wayyy more. I got so intrigued by Marcus' probationary sentence but knew I didn't have time to go into it this time 'round. Anyhow, I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season and is keeping warm!

 _The Magic of Christmas_ by _KatieFlint_

* * *

It's a bit of a mess, and Marcus swears he's going to hex the man who invented this tradition, but somehow he manages to drag the gigantic Fir through the front door with the help of at least half a dozen House Elves.

Katie peaks her head down the staircase, despite promising not to look, and watches in utter delight as her newly wedded husband tows the tree into the manor's recently emptied parlor.

This is Katie's favorite holiday and Marcus has resolved to celebrate it in all the splendor she's used to at Hogwarts, and with all the enthusiasm she usually expresses with her family.

The Flint Manor is slowly redesigning itself under Marcus' hands as he hangs decorations and rearranges furniture to make room for all manner of festive extravaganza. He tries to keep Katie away from the "big surprises" and insists she waits for him in another room until they're ready for her. But Katie's never been much good at doing what she's told.

That might very well be why she married a Slytherin, Katie smirks from her hiding spot atop the stairs. Creeping down a few steps in her socks, Marcus doesn't seem to notice her there, too preoccupied with wrestling the tree toward it's awaiting stand. Sitting quietly on the step, Katie watches her husband with a broad smile pasted on her lips, her fuzzy sweater cuddling her cheeks as she rests her head in her hands.

He's always been arrogant, and selfish, and a bit thick, but Christmas with Marcus is amazing. He's quite possibly the most giving person Katie has ever met in the holiday spirit and she never fails to feel warm inside when he's around. Marcus' speeches give little to this idea but his actions more than over shadow them.

All these decorations, placed carefully by hand, were put up because Marcus cared. He cared about how Katie felt and he really cared about her as his person. Doing all this was something new for Marcus, who was never a big participant in holidays to begin with, but he was grasping the concept one tree branch at a time.

The physical amount of labor he was putting into everything was probably most impressive to those like Katie who knew what he was going through.

While the Ministry had chosen against a prison sentence for Marcus' role in the war, they had prohibited him his use of magic for the next ten years, making life difficult and unreasonably hard (in Marcus' opinion) for someone like himself, a pureblood, to function in the wizarding world.

Marcus blew his fuse on more than one occasion when he finally came home, pent up frustrations coming to a head in a singular, insignificant moment often. He would follow his outburst by storming out of the house and into the broom shed, grabbing the first stick he spotted and taking off for the sky.

Katie had enchanted them for Marcus, heartbroken at the thought of having him grounded. He had the same lust for the air as she did and not even the Ministry would stop Katie from giving Marcus this one thing. Especially when he'd lost so much for her already.

After a varying degree of hours spent in the air, sometimes beating a bludger for the relief, Marcus would land, calmer and once again in control of himself. Katie was never afraid of her husband during these moments but she knew his attitude and knew he was best left to himself when he needed to let out the frustration and stress.

He was getting better day by day, but it was hard, and not every day went in the right direction. Sometimes Marcus went backwards. While the punishment wasn't permanent, he sometimes wondered if he would survive it. Things as simple as cleaning the counter were more of a chore than ever before and traveling without Floo powder was damn near impossible it seemed. Marcus had servants yes, but he had always been independent and now, Marcus felt he had to ask for help with everything.

Katie was quick to help, when he'd let her, and she'd also read up on several tricks to ease the strain on the both of them. At Hogwarts, Katie had been a relatively good student. No Hermione Granger, but decent enough considering she was a Gryffindor. One thing Katie did have going for her, was determination, and she had a lot of it.

Shortly after Marcus returned home, Katie began learning new charms to make the house functionable for its master once more. She failed more times than she cared to admit, once even having to run from an enraged tea kettle she'd accidentally brought to life, but through failure she found success.

Katie was careful to enchant only so much of the house, not wanting to make Marcus feel inept, but wanting him to feel able-bodied once again. He was proud, despite every cloud that had darkened his sky, and he refused to admit just how much it hurt him to be seen like this in front of her. To feel like nothing more than a squib in his own home.

That was why Marcus insisted she hide away in the other rooms while he worked, not only to surprise her, but to seclude her from his shame.

Katie wished he would understand; she really didn't care. What he was doing for her this Christmas, putting all this effort and care toward her feelings; it was the most magical thing she'd seen in all her life. And Katie had been raised as a muggle for part of her life.

A house elf came flying from the parlor and Katie jumped to her feet, rushing down the stairs; all but forgetting herself.

"Are you alright?" She gushed, kneeling next to the poor dear.

The house elf looked at her with wide eyes and stood quickly, wiping itself of the clinging pine needles, "Rolpey is okay, Mistress. Just wasn't prepared for the tree to move so fast."

"Move so fast...?" Katie turned around and was struck with an overwhelming feeling of awe. Somehow, without the use of any magic, Marcus had managed to wedge the massive tree trunk into its stand, righting a fir nearly three times his own height and catapulting an unprepared Rolpey in the process.

"I thought I told you to wait upstairs," Marcus looked at her subjectively, his brow gleaming from the physical exertion.

"You did…" Katie muttered almost in passing thought. When he had dragged it through the door, it had looked big, but now the tree was absolutely massive. No wonder Marcus had needed the assistance of so many House Elves. In school, people had joked that there was troll blood somewhere in the Flint line, and right about now, Katie was reconsidering that possibly. How on earth had he managed…

"Well?" Marcus asked, not looking at Katie as he removed his outerwear, "Are you going to help me decorate this? Or should are you going to leave it to the house elves and I?"

"Defiantly help!" Katie squealed at the prospect, practically dancing into the parlor on her tiptoes. She couldn't even blame Marcus for laughing at her just a little.

Breaking open the culmination of ornament boxes from the Flint family shed and the ones Mr. and Mrs. Bell had sent, the couple spent the rest of the day placing decorations all around the tree's branches as high as they could possibly reach.

At one point, Marcus scooped Katie up and set her on his shoulder so that she could reach higher than the either of them could singularly. They derived an effective ornament brigade line from this position, enlisting Rolpey and the other house elves to pass the ornaments from the boxes to Marcus' waiting hands. Katie would take over from there, placing ornaments to her liking and rearranging them when new ones came along that she liked better.

The brigade formation lost its effectiveness however, after Katie became entertained with wrapping Marcus in the tinsel she was given, rather than the intended target of the tree.

When Katie and Marcus had done all they could do with their own two hands, Katie hesitantly looked to her husband before pulling out her wand to finish the job. He didn't seem to mind, and in fact appeared particularly happy as he watched her finish off the final tier of branches with her magic.

Finding the tree topper at the bottom of a box, Katie held it for a moment and thought before laying the object back down in the box. Whispering a spell under her breath, Katie flicked the toward the cardboard and prayed she'd down it right. Peering in, Katie found herself pleased with the result. Snatching it up, she handed it to Marcus proudly, "Merry Christmas, Mr. Flint."

Marcus turned the new tree topper over in his hands, chuckling pleasantly, "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Flint."

Opening his hands, Marcus and Katie watched as the newly transfigured tree topper took to the air in the form of a large snitch, flying gently to the top of the tree and settling cozily down upon the highest branch.

"You've certainly picked up a few spells haven't you?" Marcus' brow quirked, the look of laughter still etched onto his features. She never ceased to amaze him with her talents.

"Oh you know what they say," Katie grinned back, "Practice makes perfect. Besides, I thought it was much more fitting for this household than a silly old star."

Marcus hummed in agreement, lifting his arm and inviting her into his embrace. She welcomed it, enjoying herself in the shadow of their merry Christmas tree, tired but happy.

After several uninterrupted minutes, Marcus' voice broke the comfortable silence, "I didn't stand it quite straight."

"Well it's a rather massive tree," Katie remarked, "And you're no Hagrid love; though you're apparently strong enough as it is."

"Years of Quidditch practices," Marcus replied.

"Yeah, years of stealing practices from us," Katie quipped, crinkling her nose. A few years ago their house rivalry had still raged so strong, they might actually have gone after one and other for a comment like that. Now, it was said simply to highlight the absurdity of their past.

They began to sway to the sound of nothing, like the pendulum in the hallway, and Marcus nudged at Katie's side until she finally began to actually dance with him.

"Marcus?" Katie spoke up, her face resting against his shoulder as they rocked. He hummed, his eyes closed and his body moving the way it did when he was at peace with himself, "I wanted to say thank you. It's been rough for you adjusting and all this, I'm sure it's been particularly tough on your sense of self-worth. I really appreciate everything and I hope you know just hope loved I feel. You've made this Christmas magical for me, even without your wand."

"Princess," Marcus spoke softly, his heat beating slowly and firmly in his chest, "Don't you know I'd do anything for you?"

"I guess I should by now," Katie agreed, "But I'm always being reminded. I wish there was  
more I could do for you…"

Marcus paused their movement, looking down into Katie's bright brown eyes with such a sincere stare, Katie lost her ability to think, "Mrs. Flint- Katie, you've already done more for me than I can say. There's not another woman on the planet like you, and you're the only one who will ever have my name. I can't thank you enough for loving me, for staying by my side despite my temper and the probation… You've always been, and still are, the only one for me Katie. I don't want you ever forgetting that."

Katie blinked a few times, attempting to pull herself from her astonished daze. Marcus didn't do speeches much, even less so when they pertained to important emotions, so his words told her much about her passion for the subject.

Rising on her tiptoes, Katie placed a soft kiss across his chapped lips, "I love you too, Marcus Flint, and you're the best present I think I've ever gotten."

"I guess I should send back the new 'stick I got you in that case," Marcus joked, gently twirling them back into a slow dance.

"Don't you dare!" Katie gasped, spinning back into him and patting his chest with a light tap. A new broom, that was definitely something to look forward to Christmas morning. Amongst other possibilities.

Katie's first official Christmas without her childhood home was a memorable one for many reasons but this night, decorating their first Christmas tree together, would forever be her favorite.

* * *

End

* * *

 **Reviews Appreciated!**


End file.
